We should ask our elected officials to oppose the Stop-Work order and actively push for its reversal. It’s not enough for some programs to receive limited waivers. All key programs run by USAID are implicated in this Stop-Work order, including maternal and child health, nutrition and vitamin A supplementation, and the President’s Malaria Initiative. ProPublica released a good piece on this today: “People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
The information about the waivers is chaotic and insufficient for implementing partners to resume work—many are confused about guidance from the U.S. government and cannot proceed. The waivers must be submitted internally to the State Department (from USAID). Over the past week, around 50% of the USAID Global Health Bureau staff were fired or furloughed (~450 technical experts). A similar proportion has probably been fired from the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The administration also put 50+ senior career foreign service officers on administrative leave (some of whom had dozens of staff in their reporting line), undermining the leadership at a key time. (NPR / CNN).
In a press conference on Wednesday, January 29 (and reported by NPR on January 31), the Health Minister from South Africa (the largest PEPFAR portfolio) said, “So far, we haven’t received any letter from the American government. Tried to contact the embassy of the U.S. We couldn’t get them.”
The General State of PEPFAR
PEPFAR has never been in a more precarious position since it was created in 2003. The program has been reauthorized three times, each for 5 years, and last year was the first time it was only reauthorized for one year (until March 2025). A big part of that fight was around false information that PEPFAR-funded partners provided abortions—which would be illegal under U.S. law. Earlier in January (before the inauguration or aid freeze—it feels like another life), U.S. officials briefed Congress that 4 nurses in Mozambique had provided 21 abortions (which is legal there) and had not been trained on compliance with US-funded programs. Procedures have already been put in place to prevent this from happening again. This is the first time this is known to have occurred with a PEPFAR-funded partner in 20 years. This indicates that the monitoring and compliance systems are working as intended.
Republicans in Congress immediately responded. Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Security and Diplomacy, led the charge in the last Congress to delay PEPFAR’s reauthorization. He promised a congressional investigation into the CDC for violating the Helms Amendment. Senator Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated: “I will not support one dollar of American money going toward abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again.”
We should ask our elected officials to oppose the Stop-Work order and actively push for its reversal. It’s not enough for some programs to receive limited waivers. All key programs run by USAID are implicated in this Stop-Work order, including maternal and child health, nutrition and vitamin A supplementation, and the President’s Malaria Initiative. ProPublica released a good piece on this today: “People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
The information about the waivers is chaotic and insufficient for implementing partners to resume work—many are confused about guidance from the U.S. government and cannot proceed. The waivers must be submitted internally to the State Department (from USAID). Over the past week, around 50% of the USAID Global Health Bureau staff were fired or furloughed (~450 technical experts). A similar proportion has probably been fired from the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The administration also put 50+ senior career foreign service officers on administrative leave (some of whom had dozens of staff in their reporting line), undermining the leadership at a key time. (NPR / CNN).
In a press conference on Wednesday, January 29 (and reported by NPR on January 31), the Health Minister from South Africa (the largest PEPFAR portfolio) said, “So far, we haven’t received any letter from the American government. Tried to contact the embassy of the U.S. We couldn’t get them.”
The General State of PEPFAR
PEPFAR has never been in a more precarious position since it was created in 2003. The program has been reauthorized three times, each for 5 years, and last year was the first time it was only reauthorized for one year (until March 2025). A big part of that fight was around false information that PEPFAR-funded partners provided abortions—which would be illegal under U.S. law. Earlier in January (before the inauguration or aid freeze—it feels like another life), U.S. officials briefed Congress that 4 nurses in Mozambique had provided 21 abortions (which is legal there) and had not been trained on compliance with US-funded programs. Procedures have already been put in place to prevent this from happening again. This is the first time this is known to have occurred with a PEPFAR-funded partner in 20 years. This indicates that the monitoring and compliance systems are working as intended.
Republicans in Congress immediately responded. Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Security and Diplomacy, led the charge in the last Congress to delay PEPFAR’s reauthorization. He promised a congressional investigation into the CDC for violating the Helms Amendment. Senator Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated: “I will not support one dollar of American money going toward abortion anywhere in the world, and I will do all I can to ensure this never happens again.”